Luxury Italian fashion house Fendi has forayed into the world of furniture.
The brand teamed up with Botswana-based Mabeo Studio for a collaboration that explores local craft and aims to push traditional material and techniques into new directions.
The 10-piece furniture collection was launched at Design Miami this past weekend.
Designer Peter Mabeo launched his namesake brand in 2006 and is no stranger to major collaborations. He counts Patricia Urquiola, Claesson Koivisto Rune and Inès Bressand among regular collaborators.
In fact, it was his recent project with Bressand that caught the eye of Fendi’s Kim Jones.
‘I was very taken by Mabeo’s 2017 collaboration with Inès Bressand, which featured the use of panga panga wood and distinctive hand-beaten metal panels on the ‘Zezuru’ cabinet and chair,’ Jones said to Wallpaper magazine.
‘I was immediately drawn to the considered approach Peter’s studio had to form and function, combined with materials and artisanal techniques specific to their local environment.’
For the project, Mabeo was given free reign to create whatever felt came authentically to him. However, what was important to him was that he was given the opportunity to question, experiment, and challenge traditional ways of thinking.
The collection includes pieces such as the Gabi-Gabi sculpture, a large-scale centrepiece made of galvanised metal sheet, the ‘Shiya’ seat, made of panga panga wood, and an archetypal seat called the Foro chair.
For the collection, Mabeo called on a range of local artisans - from basket weavers, to metal workers and people practicing ancient techniques - to bring each design to life.
